1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multilayer capacitor and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Related Background Art
A multilayer capacitor comprising a capacitor element body formed by laminating a plurality of dielectric layers, a plurality of inner electrodes formed within the capacitor element body, and a pair of terminal electrodes formed on side faces of the capacitor element body has conventionally been known. When a voltage is applied to the multilayer capacitor, a mechanical strain having a magnitude corresponding to the applied voltage is generated in the capacitor element body because of the electrostrictive effect. When an AC voltage is applied, the mechanical strain causes vibrations (electrostrictive vibrations) in the multilayer capacitor in particular. Hence, when an AC voltage is applied to a multilayer capacitor mounted on a substrate, electrostrictive vibrations may propagate to the substrate, thereby causing so-called chattering noises.
Therefore, for example, a multilayer capacitor disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-266110 is provided with a metal terminal having an inner connecting part for clamping a capacitor element body side face formed with a terminal electrode, an outer connecting part for clamping a capacitor element body side face formed with no terminal electrode, and an intermediate part for joining the inner and outer connecting parts to each other. In this multilayer capacitor, the intermediate part is made thinner than the inner connecting part and adapted to flex, so as to absorb electrostrictive vibrations.